Canaanites Defeated at Hormah

21 The ^(A)king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. ^2 (B)So Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then ^(C)I will utterly destroy their cities.” ³ And the Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called ^[a]Hormah.

The Bronze Serpent

⁴ Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to ^(D)go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very ^[b]discouraged on the way. ⁵ And the people ^(E)spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul ^[c]loathes this worthless bread.” ⁶ So ^(F)the Lord sent ^(G)fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

^7 (H)Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have ^(I)sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; ^(J)pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(K)“Make a ^(L)fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” ⁹ So ^(M)Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

From Mount Hor to Moab

¹⁰ Now the children of Israel moved on and ^(N)camped in Oboth. ¹¹ And they journeyed from Oboth and camped at ^[d]Ije Abarim, in the wilderness which is east of Moab, toward the sunrise. ^12 (O)From there they moved and camped in the Valley of Zered. ¹³ From there they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites; for ^(P)the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴ Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord:

¹⁶ From there they went ^(R)to Beer, which is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” ^17 (S)Then Israel sang this song:

And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah, ¹⁹ from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰ and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the ^[f]country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks ^(U)down on the ^[g]wasteland.

King Sihon Defeated^(V)

²¹ Then ^(W)Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ^22 (X)“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” ^23 (Y)But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and ^[h]went out against Israel in the wilderness, ^(Z)and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. ²⁴ Then ^(AA)Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified. ²⁵ So Israel took all these cities, and Israel ^(AB)dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages. ²⁶ For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon. ²⁷ Therefore those who speak in ^[i]proverbs say:

³¹ Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. ³² Then Moses sent to ^[j]spy out ^(AL)Jazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.

King Og Defeated^(AM)

^33 (AN)And they turned and went up by the way to ^(AO)Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle ^(AP)at Edrei. ³⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(AQ)“Do not fear him, for I have ^[k]delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and ^(AR)you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.” ^35 (AS)So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land.

Balak Sends for Balaam

22 Then ^(AT)the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.

² Now ^(AU)Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ And ^(AV)Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. ⁴ So Moab said to ^(AW)the elders of Midian, “Now this company will ^[l]lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. ⁵ Then ^(AX)he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at ^(AY)Pethor, which is near ^[m]the River in the land of ^[n]the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! ^6 (AZ)Therefore please come at once, ^(BA)curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷ So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with ^(BB)the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. ⁸ And he said to them, ^(BC)“Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

^9 (BD)Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”

¹⁰ So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ¹¹ ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ”

¹² And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for ^(BE)they are blessed.”

¹³ So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.”

¹⁴ And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

¹⁵ Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more ^[o]honorable than they. ¹⁶ And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; ¹⁷ for I will certainly ^(BF)honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. ^(BG)Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ”

¹⁸ Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, ^(BH)“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, ^(BI)I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. ¹⁹ Now therefore, please, you also ^(BJ)stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.”

^20 (BK)And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but ^(BL)only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.”

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin ^(A)betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And having come in, the angel said to her, ^(B)“Rejoice, highly favored one, ^(C)the Lord is with you; ^[a]blessed are you among women!”

²⁹ But ^[b]when she saw him, ^(D)she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found ^(E)favor with God. ^31 (F)And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and ^(G)shall call His name Jesus. ³² He will be great, ^(H)and will be called the Son of the Highest; and ^(I)the Lord God will give Him the ^(J)throne of His ^(K)father David. ^33 (L)And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I ^[c]do not know a man?”

³⁵ And the angel answered and said to her, ^(M)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called ^(N)the Son of God. ³⁶ Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. ³⁷ For ^(O)with God nothing will be impossible.”

³⁸ Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, ^(P)to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was ^(Q)filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, ^(R)“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ^45 (S)Blessed is she who ^[d]believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

The Song of Mary

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

Prayer for Safety from Enemies^(A)

To the Chief Musician. Set to ^[a]“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David ^(B)when he fled from Saul into the cave.